The latest video for OneRepublic’s new single, “Secrets,” is a straightforward concept.

A beautiful woman sits alone on a restaurant patio looking contemplative. A man sits alone a few tables away looking pensive. (A similar look to contemplative, yes.) They walk the streets separately. A band plays in a cavernous warehouse space.

But the Denver connections are hard to miss. That man is Ryan Tedder, the uber-producer/hit songwriter and frontman of Denver-based OneRepublic. The restaurant is the Wynkoop Brewing Co. Coors Field quietly sits in the background of one shot, and the Parlour salon frames another shot. The streets and alleys: Distinctively LoDo.

“We needed to shoot the video early for Europe, ’cause it was the first single over there,” Tedder said. “The label wanted an L.A. video. We said, ‘Nope — Denver.’ The director came out, and we drove him up to the Bucksnort Saloon up past Conifer in some old mining town. And then we shot the video in a rehearsal space off 20th and all over downtown.

“It was a blast — a perfect day. And in between takes, we were watching the Broncos game in the bar at Wynkoop. The Broncos won that day. It was awesome. We will most likely do another video in Colorado. I’d love to use the Stanley Hotel for a shoot.”

Tedder is living the dream. He’s still writing hit songs for his band and other artists, but most of the time he’s doing it from the comfort of his Denver home and studio. Tedder and some of his bandmates moved back to Colorado after breaking in Los Angeles with their first hit, the mammoth pop ballad “Apologize.”

After writing and producing for Leona Lewis, Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson (see Page E4 for our sidebar on Tedder’s history with Clarkson), Tedder turned his attention back to OneRepublic. Sales of the band’s first single (“All the Right Moves”) from its second record (“Waking Up”) are approaching the 2 million mark. Europeans were the first to latch on to the single, but now it’s ubiquitous in America — having been on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 32 weeks, peaking at the No. 18 spot.

As “All the Right Moves” sits comfortably at No. 36 now, between Usher’s “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” and Alicia Keys’ “Unthinkable (I’m Ready),” Tedder and his bandmates are ready to release “Secrets” to their American fans. We caught up with Tedder last week to chat about the risks he took with “Waking Up,” his recent songwriting collaborations and his summertime plans in Colorado.

Q: It took a while, but “All the Right Moves” finally took off in the U.S. You psyched?

A: Very psyched. For whatever reason, that song took eight months to connect in the U.S. We knew it was a risky song ’cause it’s so different, but it finally worked here and has become a hit in Europe and Asia, too. But it was a grind.

Q: And now you guys are dropping “Secrets,” which you were telling me the other day will be in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” trailer and film?

A: Yes, “Secrets” has been successful overseas — it was No. 1 a few months ago — and it is finally coming out here. We’re performing it on the “Today” show on May 28 after Broomstock, and T.I. just did a version of it as well, so we’ve got a couple varieties of the song. We really hope it connects with our fans here.

Q: You’d told me before that you and the guys took a big risk by changing up your sound with this record. Do you feel justified with these numbers, the reaction and such?

A: I definitely feel justified, but I was prepared to end up with egg on my face as well. “All the Right Moves” is far removed from “Apologize” or “Stop and Stare,” but it worked. We’re crossing the 2 million mark in single downloads for that song, so I guess that means that fans connected with it. I’m not stoked about the fact that it’s basically a singles market now, and the “album” as we know it is dying. This week was officially the worst week of album sales in the history of the recording industry. So I’m taking that as a challenge to write the best songs possible, ’cause good songs always find a home.

Q: You’re in L.A. right now. Who are you working with out there?

A: I’m in the studio with Keri Hilson, David Cook and I’m working on stuff for T.I. as well. We also just shot another music video for “Marching On.” It’s the official song of the World Cup for the German national team, and it will be released in Europe.

Q: Who else have you worked with recently? And who’s coming up?

A: I’ve recently worked with Adele, Tiesto, Natasha Bedingfield, James Morrison, Keri Hilson and T.I. I also have singles coming out this summer with a bunch of new artists. Coming up, I’ll be working with Kelly Clarkson, Brit (Spears), Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum and some others.

Q: What’s the update on the Denver studio? Is it done yet?

A: The Denver studio is not done yet, but it will be awesome. It’s a “private personal use” studio, not a commercial one, but I will be writing with whoever I work with and OneRepublic, of course.

Q: You enjoyed living in Colorado and being able to ski this last winter. What are you looking forward to doing in Colorado this summer?

A: This summer I’m looking forward to camping in 11 Mile Canyon and up near Estes, fly fishing the South Platte, rafting and hitting Grand Lake at least once. It’s one of my favorite spots of all time. Oh, and I’ll be eating at the Bucksnort Saloon up near Conifer. The place looks like it hasn’t been touched since the gold rush, and they have great burgers.

ONE REPUBLIC.

Ricardo Baca is the editor of The Cannabist. After 12 years as The Denver Post's music critic and a couple more as the paper's entertainment editor, he was tapped to become The Post's first ever marijuana editor and create The Cannabist in late-2013. Baca also founded music blog Reverb and co-founded music festival The UMS.

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